...because nothing says "Happy Holidays" like a ZERG RUSH!! Since newly-anointed judge Chimpazilla just had her own collab mixpost, it seemed only fitting that Michael "Flexstyle" Birch get some love, too. This downtempo, chill, & somewhat melancholy ambient collab arrangement of StarCraft 2 (our first!) with urdailywater was part of the "ReMixing with the Stars" compo; Aaron actually debut with a very unique Yume Nikki mix earlier this year, but this compo series gives up&comers a chance to collaborate with more established names - a brilliant concept and something I was really glad to see happening, as I think there's a ton of potential for knowledge & growth, on both sides of the equation. urdailywater writes:

"The first draft with the full arrangement I sent in to Flexstyle was sort of a small orchestral/electronic ambient track with an acoustic drumset. However, it seems Flexstyle saw more to it than that, and while keeping the arrangement pretty much 100% the same except for a few moving arps and some amazing ambience pads, he turned this into a great cinematic piece. The drums and pads were what ended up making the song IMO, and since the piece was already dynamic, it translated into a cinematic one VERY well.

Flexstyle has a great ear for production, and I'm glad I got to work with him on this song. He really took my style of Orchestra vs. Electronica and brought it to life in a way I thought it never could be. This kind of song really encourages me to expand on what I'm already good at rather than trying to expand by composing in completely different genres altogether (but that's always fun, too : D)"

Mike adds:

"When this competition was announced, I knew I had to be a part of it. I got paired up with urdailywater for the inaugural round, and after a bit of discussion, we decided to tackle a section of the first track in the Starcraft II OST. This game has one of my all-time favorite soundtracks, and although udw had never heard it, he knew Blizzard's OSTs by reputation and eagerly agreed to go ahead with it.

This came together fairly quickly, at least from my view. After a bit of time taking care of job-related business, udw sent me his full arrangement, and I took care of polishing it. I changed around some drums, added some very high quality samples in place of his soundfonts, and gave the entire thing what I think is an appropriately awe-inspiring layer of cinematic atmosphere for such a truly emotional source. This experience has been a lot of fun for me, and it would appear that my partner in crime agrees. I hope the rest of you enjoy this track as much as we enjoyed making it!"

Grats to Aaron & Mike for working this out; very deliberate pacing & downtempo groove, and a rather somber mood that fits with the mix title & casts a lonely shadow. Palpable writes:

"Oh this isn't a Mr. Mister cover? Well, I guess it's a nice song nonetheless :) Great atmosphere and build-up, the song flows superbly. You guys really take advantage of that beautiful melody to tug the heartstrings, eking the full emotional impact out of it. The lack of source may trouble the Larrys of the panel, but the song is so well-connected that I could have sworn the closing piano notes of your arrangement were in the original somewhere. The percentage is close enough to the border that I can pass it. In regards to the piano intro: I agree it is mechanical and something smoother would have been better, but context is important, and it is treated as more of a background instrument for texture, so I wasn't as bothered by it."

Nice example of more melodic modern VGM in a AAA title; Blizzard always has some pretty delicious stuff, and I'm glad to see something newer get some attention, too. At just a hair over three minutes, this is a relatively short piece, but it quickly establishes a dramatic atmosphere and develops things decisively from there; always looking forward to hearing more from both artists, and also from the "ReMixing with the Stars" competition!

Woot! RMWtS on the first page! Always knew this was the mix
that was going to make it happen.

With so many compos running these days, it's hard to generate
much interest in this one. Stars in particular are hard to
come by. I was going to run another round in January, but it
looks like SZRC2014 will conflict. I may need to consider an
alternative schedule or format to keep this going on a more
regular basis.

Woot! RMWtS on the first page! Always knew this was the mix that
was going to make it happen.

With so many compos running these days, it's hard to generate
much interest in this one. Stars in particular are hard to come
by. I was going to run another round in January, but it looks
like SZRC2014 will conflict. I may need to consider an
alternative schedule or format to keep this going on a more
regular basis.

Very moody and coldly beautiful. I love how the RWTS compo works
on helping others polish and build on their musical abilities,
and combines the experience of other ReMixers to create sweet
songs like this. Lots of emotion and atmosphere, but the main
melody just keeps you glued in. Damn good track, keep it up guys.

Wonderful piece. I have not heard the source, but I love the down
tempo. The speed with the combination of orchestra give it a very
cinematic feel. The judicious use of electronic sounds really
gives the feeling that we are listening to something that belongs
in the game's universe, as opposed to just on a screen.

I've gotten better at piano humanization since this song, but my
favorite part of the song is probably how the opening piano notes
come into the background during the main chorus of the song. I
didn't really notice how well it worked until listening to the
song a few months after it was finished.

Big thanks to Flexstyle on this song for real. This track has
influenced my newer stuff in a very good way. Especially in
messing with deeper and more intricate ambience.

There's some nicely designed reverb here. Just enough ambience
without washiness. I agree that the intro piano is a little
mechanical, but not so much that it detracts from the piece.
Great job on this, Mike and Aaron!

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